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| Sir Ridley Scott | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | 30 November 1937 (1937-11-30) (age 71) South Shields, England, United Kingdom |
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| Other name(s) | Rid R-Scott |
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| Occupation | film director and producer | ||||||||||||||||||
| Years active | 1965 - present | ||||||||||||||||||
| Spouse(s) | Felicity Heywood (1964-1975) Sandy Watson (1979-1989) |
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Sir Ridley Scott (born November 30, 1937 in South Shields, Tyne and Wear) is an English Academy Award nominated and Golden Globe, Emmy Award and BAFTA Award winning film director and producer known for his stylish visuals and an obsession for detail. His films include Alien, Blade Runner, Thelma & Louise, Gladiator, Black Hawk Down, Matchstick Men, Kingdom of Heaven, American Gangster and Body of Lies. His brother is fellow film director Tony Scott.
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Scott grew up in an Army family, meaning that for most of his early life his father — an officer in the Royal Engineers — was absent. Ridley's older brother, Frank, joined the Merchant Navy when he was still young and the pair had little contact. During this time the family moved around, living in (amongst other areas) Cumbria, Wales and Germany. After the Second World War the Scott family moved back to their native north-east England, eventually settling in Teesside (whose industrial landscape would later inspire similar scenes in Blade Runner). He enjoyed watching films. Among Scott's favourites were (and remain) Lawrence of Arabia, Citizen Kane and Seven Samurai.[1] Scott studied in Teesside from 1954 to 1958, at Grangefield Grammar School, Stockton and later in West Hartlepool College of Art, graduating with a Diploma in Design. He progressed to an M.A. in graphic design at London's Royal College of Art from 1960 to 1962.
At the RCA he contributed to the college magazine, 'ARK' and helped to establish its film department. For his final show he made a black and white short film, 'Boy and Bicycle', starring his younger brother, Tony Scott, and his father. The film's main visual elements would become features of Scott's later work; it was issued on the 'Extras' section of 'The Duellists' DVD. After graduation in 1963 he secured a job as a trainee set designer with the BBC, leading to work on the popular television police series 'Z-Cars' and the science fiction series 'Out of the Unknown'. Scott was an admirer of Stanley Kubrick early in his development as a director. For his entry for the BBC traineeship Scott remade 'Paths of Glory' as a short film.
He was assigned to design the second Doctor Who serial, The Daleks, which would have entailed realising the famous alien creatures. However, shortly before he was due to start work a schedule conflict meant that he was replaced on the serial by Raymond Cusick.[2] At the BBC, Scott was placed into a director training programme and, before he left the corporation, had directed episodes of Z-Cars, its spin-off, Softly, Softly, and adventure series Adam Adamant Lives!.
Five members of the Scott family are directors, all working for Ridley Scott Associates (RSA). Brother Tony has been a successful film director for more than two decades; sons, Jake and Luke are both acclaimed commercials directors as is his daughter, Jordan. Jake and Jordan both work from Los Angeles and Luke is based in London.
Scott left the BBC in 1968 and established a production company, Ridley Scott Associates, working with Sir Alan Parker, Hugh Hudson, Hugh Johnson and employing his younger brother, Tony. Having cut his teeth on UK television commercials in the 1970s — most notably the 1974 Hovis advert, "Bike Round" (New World Symphony), which was filmed in Shaftesbury, Dorset — he graduated to Hollywood, where he produced and directed a number of top box office films.
The Duellists of 1977 was Ridley Scott's first feature film. It was produced in Europe and won a Best Debut Film medal at the Cannes Film Festival but made limited commercial impact in the US. Set during the Napoleonic Wars, it featured two French Hussar officers, D'Hubert and Feraud (played by Keith Carradine and Harvey Keitel). Their quarrel over an initially minor incident turns into a bitter, long-drawn out feud over the following fifteen years, interwoven with the larger conflict that provides its backdrop. The film is lauded for its historically authentic portrayal of Napoleonic uniforms and military conduct, as well as its accurate early-nineteenth-century fencing techniques recreated by fight choreographer William Hobbs.
Scott's box office disappointment with The Duellists was compounded by the success being enjoyed by Alan Parker with American-backed films — Scott admitted he was "ill for a week" with envy. Scott had originally planned to next adapt an opera, Tristan und Isolde, but after seeing Star Wars, he became convinced of the potential of large scale, effects-driven films. He therefore accepted the job of directing Alien, the ground-breaking 1979 horror/science-fiction film that would give him international recognition. Whilst mostly filmed in 1978, Scott's talent for high-quality production design and atmospheric visuals, and the film's emphasis on realism over movie heroics have given Alien almost ageless appeal.
While Scott would not direct the three Alien sequels, the female action hero Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) introduced in the first film, would become a cinematic icon. Scott was involved in the 2003 restoration and re-release of the film including media interviews for its promotion. At this time Scott indicated that he had been in discussions to make the fifth and final film in the Alien franchise. However, in a 2006 interview, the director remarked that he had been unhappy about Alien: The Director's Cut, feeling that the original was "pretty flawless" and that the additions were merely a marketing tool.[3]
After a year working on the film adaptation of Dune, Scott signed to direct the film version of Philip K. Dick's novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, (which would be retitled Blade Runner after the success of the film), following the sudden death of his brother Frank. Starring Harrison Ford and featuring an acclaimed soundtrack by Vangelis, Blade Runner was a flop when released in theatres in 1982, and was pulled shortly thereafter. However, it would eventually achieve cult status through re-issue on television and through home video. Scott's notes were used by Warner Brothers to create a rushed director's cut in 1991 which removed the voiceovers and modified the ending. Today Blade Runner is often ranked by critics as one of the most important science fiction films of the 20th century[4] and is usually discussed along with William Gibson's novel Neuromancer as initiating the cyberpunk genre. Scott personally supervised a digitally restored Blade Runner and approved the Final Cut, which was released theatrically in Los Angeles, New York and Toronto on October 5 2007, and as an elaborate DVD release on December 18 2007, following the resolution of a number of rights issues between Warner Bros and the film's guarantors.[5] Scott regards Blade Runner as his "most complete and personal film".[6]
1984 is a 1984 American television commercial directed by Scott, written by Steve Hayden and Lee Clow, produced by Chiat/Day, and starring Anya Major as the unnamed heroine and David Graham as Big Brother. [7][8] It was released for a single airing in the United States on January 22, 1984 during the third quarter of Super Bowl XVIII. [9] It introduced the Macintosh personal computer for the first time and is now considered a "watershed event" [10] and a "masterpiece."[11]
1984 used the unnamed heroine to represent the coming of the Macintosh (indicated by her white tank top with a Picasso-style picture of Apple’s Macintosh computer on it) as a means of saving humanity from "conformity" (Big Brother). [12]
These images were an allusion to George Orwell's noted novel, Nineteen Eighty-Four, which described a dystopian future ruled by a televised "Big Brother."
In 1985 Scott directed Legend, a fantasy film produced by Arnon Milchan. Having not tackled the fairy tale genre, Scott decided to create a "once upon a time" film set in a world of fairies, princesses, and goblins. Scott cast Tom Cruise as the film's hero, Jack, Mia Sara as Princess Lily, and Tim Curry as the Satan-like Lord of Darkness. But a series of problems with both principal photography and post-production (including heavy editing and substitution of Jerry Goldsmith's original score) hampered the film's release and as a result Legend received scathing reviews. It has since become a cult classic thanks to a DVD release that restores Scott's original, intended vision.
Hungry for a real box office hit and also for respect from the press which considered him a commercial filmmaker devoted only to fantastic visuals without much substance, Scott decided to postpone further incursions into the science fiction and fantasy genre, in order to avoid being typecast, by focusing more in down-to-earth, mature, suspense thrillers.
Among them came Someone to Watch Over Me, a romantic police drama starring Tom Berenger, Lorraine Bracco and Mimi Rogers in 1987, and Black Rain, a 1989 cop drama starring Michael Douglas and Andy Garcia, shot partially in Tokyo and Osaka, Japan. Both met with mild success at the box office.
Again, Scott was praised for his lavish visuals, but was still being criticised for making films that were little more than extended versions of his glossy TV commercials, which he kept directing due to the lucrative nature of the advertising business.
Thelma & Louise (1991) starred Geena Davis as Thelma, Susan Sarandon as Louise who are on a journey of personal discovery, friendship, and love, with the two committing crimes along the cross-country trek. These crimes strengthen Thelma and Louise's bond. Harvey Keitel is featured as a sympathetic detective who tries to solve crimes that the two women commit. The movie proved to be a success and revived Scott's reputation as a film maker.
However, Scott's next project was less successful. He oversaw the making of an independent movie 1492: Conquest of Paradise. It is a visually striking film about the story of Christopher Columbus. However it is considered to be his slowest-paced movie. Scott would not release another film for four years after 1492: Conquest of Paradise.
In 1995, together with his brother Tony, Scott formed the film and television production company Scott Free Productions in Los Angeles. All of his subsequent feature films, starting with White Squall and G.I. Jane, a female tabloid version of Full Metal Jacket starring Demi Moore and Viggo Mortensen, have been produced under the Scott Free banner. Also in 1995 the two brothers purchased a controlling interest in Shepperton Studios, which were later merged with Pinewood Studios. Scott and his brother are currently producing (since 2005) the CBS series Numb3rs — a crime drama focused on a mathematician who helps the FBI solve crimes using his genius in mathematics.
The huge success of Scott's film Gladiator (2000) has been credited with the revival of the nearly defunct genre of the "sword and sandal" historical epic.[citation needed] Scott then turned to Hannibal, the sequel to Jonathan Demme's The Silence of the Lambs. 2001 also saw the release of Scott's war film Black Hawk Down (2001), which further established Scott's position as both a critically and financially successful film maker and went on to earn two Oscars.
In 2003 Scott directed Matchstick Men, adapted from the novel by Eric Garcia and starring Nicolas Cage, Sam Rockwell and Alison Lohman. It received mostly positive reviews and performed moderately at the box office.
In 2005 the director made the internationally successful Kingdom of Heaven, a movie about the Crusades which consciously sought to connect history to current events. While on location in Morocco during filming, Scott reportedly received threats from extremists. The Moroccan government also sent the Moroccan cavalry as extras in the epic battle scenes.
Unhappy with the theatrical version of the film (which he blamed on paying too much attention to the opinions of preview audiences), Scott supervised a director's cut of Kingdom of Heaven, which was released on DVD in 2006.[13] In an interview to promote the latter, when asked if he was against previewing in general, Scott stated:
"It depends who's in the driving seat. If you've got a lunatic doing my job, then you need to preview. But a good director should be experienced enough to judge what he thinks is the correct version to go out into the cinema."[14]
Scott teamed up again with actor Russell Crowe, directing the movie A Good Year, which is based on the best-selling book. The film was released on November 10 2006, with a score by Marc Streitenfeld. Rupert Murdoch, chairman of News Corp and Subsidiary studio 20th Century Fox (who backed the film) dismissed A Good Year as "a flop" at a shareholders' meeting only a few days after the film was released.[15]
Scott's next directorial work was on American Gangster, the story of real-life drug kingpin Frank Lucas, working for the first time with Denzel Washington and again with Russell Crowe. He is the third director to attempt the project after Antoine Fuqua's attempt (under the working title Tru Blu) was shut down by the studio due to an escalating budget. Washington had been cast in the initial Steven Zaillian-drafted incarnation of the project (reuniting him with Fuqua who had directed him in his Best Actor Oscar-winning performance in Training Day) along with Benicio del Toro playing Richie Roberts. Both actors were paid salaries of $20m and $15m respectively without doing any production on the film. The project was then handed to the director of Hotel Rwanda, Terry George, who was rumoured to be working on a less harsh version of the script with Don Cheadle in the starring role. Eventually George and Cheadle dropped out and Scott took over the project in early 2006. Scott brought Zaillian back on board to rewrite the script to focus on the dynamic between Frank Lucas and Richie Roberts. Washington signed back on to the project as Lucas and Crowe signed on to play Roberts. The film finally premiered in November 2007 to positive reviews and good box office.
Scott is set to direct an adaptation of Robin Hood called Nottingham in which Russell Crowe will portray both the Sheriff of Nottingham[16] and Robin Hood.
Rumoured future projects include Shadow Divers (though currently unattached) and The Invisible World (production notes unknown). He also has a historical epic called Tripoli planned, with Russell Crowe and Ben Kingsley attached, and a western in development, Blood Meridian, based on the book by Cormac McCarthy. In 2000, he was attached to do an adaptation of Ben Elton's novel Popcorn. He and brother Tony are also looking at remaking the 1979 film The Warriors, with Tony set to direct as his next film after Déjà Vu. It was recently announced that he will direct Brave New World[17]
On June 19 2007 it was announced that Scott would direct a film version of the game Monopoly.[18]
Scott will also direct Child 44 an adaptation of the novel by Tom Rob Smith, a period thriller set during the Stalinist-era about a Russian secret police officer who is framed by a colleague for treason. He will be producer of the horror movie Tell-Tale, which Michael Cuesta is set to direct and Josh Lucas to star in as a man whose heart-transplant leads him to find the killer of his heart's previous owner before its past catches up to him. And Factor X about a young counter-terrorism expert from Washington who works with Wichita police detective Ken Landwehr (Eric Bana) to solve the infamous case of the BTK serial killer active in Kansas from 1974-91, but who was finally captured in 2005.
Scott is currently developing a film about Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev. A production schedule or release date for the film has yet to be announced. The film is set 1987.
With brother Tony Scott, acquired the rights to the Lachlan Fox thriller series by Australian novelist James Clancy Phelan No casting announcement yet as to who will play the investigative reporter, nor which book in the series will make it to screen first in this Jason Bourne-like franchise. [1]
In April 2008, Scott announced his new project The Kind One, a period drama set for release in 2010. The film will star recent Academy Award nominee Casey Affleck.[19] Also, he will be making his first science fiction movie since Blade Runner, an adaptation of the novel The Forever War, which he has been trying to pursue the rights for since the early 1980s. [20]
Initially Scott was hardly known as an actors' director, but he has become more receptive to ideas from his cast as his career has developed. Examples include Susan Sarandon's suggestions that the character of Louise pack shoes in plastic bags in one scene of Thelma & Louise, and another where her character exchanges jewellery for a hat and other items, as well as Tim Robbins' collaboration with Scott and Susan Sarandon to rework the final scene with a more upbeat ending. Russell Crowe has commented, "I like being on Ridley's set because actors can perform [...] and the focus is on the performers."[21] Paul M. Sammon, in his book Future Noir: The Making of Blade Runner, commented in an interview with Brmovie.com that Scott's relationship with his actors has improved considerably over the years.[22]
On the other hand, he can be a demanding and difficult director to work for. He was nicknamed "Guvnor" in the Blade Runner production. Several crew members wore protest t-shirts with slogans such as "Yes Guvnor, my ass" and "Will Rogers never met Ridley Scott" in reference to Will Rogers' most famous quotation, "I never met a man I didn't like".[23] This was mainly in response to the way that Scott directed his first American crew, which some considered too harsh.
His striking visual style, incorporating a detailed approach to production design and innovative, atmospheric lighting, has been influential on a subsequent generation of filmmakers — many of whom have simply imitated his style. Scott commonly uses slow pacing until the action sequences, which are characterised by frequent, rapid edits. Examples include Alien and Blade Runner; the LA Times critic Sheila Benson, for example, would call the latter "Blade Crawler" "because it's so damn slow". Another commonly employed technique is his use of sound or music to build tension, as seen in Alien with hissing steam, beeping computers and the noise of the machinery in the space ship.
Scott has developed a method for filming intricate shots as swiftly as possible:
"I like working, always, with a minimum of three cameras. [...] So those 50 set-ups [a day] might only be 25 set-ups except I'm covering in the set-up. So you're finished. I mean, if you take a little bit more time to prep on three cameras, or if it's a big stunt, eleven cameras, and — whilst it may take 45 minutes to set up — then when you're ready you say 'Action!', and you do three takes, two takes and is everybody happy? You say, 'Yeah, that's it.' So you move on."[21]
Although Scott is often known for his painterly directorial style, other techniques and elements include:
Scott is known for his enthusiasm for the DVD format, providing audio commentaries and interviews for all his films where possible. In the July 2006 issue of Total Film magazine, he stated:
After all the work we go through, to have it run in the cinema and then disappear forever is a great pity. To give the film added life is really cool for both those who missed it and those who really loved it.[14]
The special edition DVDs of Scott's films are often well regarded for their high quality picture and sound, as well as comprehensive documentaries and commentaries, produced by his longtime DVD producer, Charles de Lauzirika.
Running alongside his enthusiasm for DVD, Scott is sometimes considered the "father" of the director's cut, a description which is somewhat ironic considering that the impetus to produce such versions has sometimes begun with other parties. The positive reaction to the Blade Runner Director's Cut encouraged Scott to re-cut several movies that were flops at the time of their release (including Legend and Kingdom of Heaven). Today the practice of alternative cuts is more commonplace, though often as a way to make a film stand out in the DVD marketplace by adding new material.
Scott has been nominated for three Academy Awards for Directing: for Thelma & Louise, Gladiator and Black Hawk Down, as well as a Golden Globe, BAFTA and Emmy Award.[26] He was knighted in the 2003 New Year honours.[27]
| Date | Movie | Studio | Domestic gross | Worldwide gross | Theatres | Opening weekend | Opening theatres | Budget |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 November 2009 | Nottingham | Uni. | ||||||
| 10 October 2008 | Body of Lies | WB | $34,551,015 | $45,401,015 | 2,714 | $12,884,416 | 2,710 | US$70,000,000 |
| 2 November 2007 | American Gangster | Uni. | $130,164,645 | $265,697,825 | 3,110 | $43,565,115 | 3,054 | US$100,000,000 |
| 10 November 2006 | A Good Year | Fox | $7,459,300 | $42,056,466 | 2,067 | $3,721,526 | 2,066 | US$35,000,000 |
| 6 May 2005 | Kingdom of Heaven | Fox | $47,398,413 | $211,652,051 | 3,219 | $19,635,996 | 3,216 | US$130,000,000 |
| 12 September 2003 | Matchstick Men | WB | $36,906,460 | $65,565,672 | 2,711 | $13,087,307 | 2,711 | N/A |
| 28 December 2001 | Black Hawk Down | SonR | $108,638,745 | $172,989,651 | 3,143 | $179,823 | 4 | US$92,000,000 |
| 9 February 2001 | Hannibal | MGM | $165,092,268 | $351,692,268 | 3,292 | $58,003,121 | 3,230 | US$87,000,000 |
| 5 May 2000 | Gladiator | DW | $187,705,427 | $457,640,427 | 3,188 | $34,819,017 | 2,938 | US$103,000,000 |
| 22 August 1997 | G.I. Jane | BV | $48,169,156 | 2,043 | $11,094,241 | 1,945 | N/A | |
| 2 February 1996 | White Squall | BV | $10,292,300 | 1,524 | $3,908,514 | 1,524 | N/A | |
| 9 October 1992 | 1492: Conquest of Paradise | Par. | $7,191,399 | 1,008 | $3,002,680 | 1,008 | US$47,000,000 | |
| 24 May 1991 | Thelma & Louise | MGM | $45,360,915 | 1,180 | $6,101,297 | 1,179 | US$16,500,000 | |
| 22 September 1989 | Black Rain | Par. | $46,212,055 | $134,212,055 | 1,760 | $9,677,102 | 1,610 | N/A |
| 9 October 1987 | Someone to Watch Over Me | Col. | $10,278,549 | 894 | $2,908,796 | 892 | N/A | |
| 18 April 1986 | Legend | Uni. | $15,502,112 | 1,187 | $4,261,154 | 1,187 | N/A | |
| 25 June 1982 | Blade Runner | WB | $32,768,670 | 1,325 | $6,150,002 | 1,295 | N/A | |
| 25 May 1979 | Alien | Fox | $80,931,801 | $104,931,801 | 757 | $3,527,881 | 91 | US$11,000,000 |
His current partner is the actress Giannina Facio, whom he has cast in all his movies since White Squall. He divides his time between homes in London, France, and Los Angeles.
| Year | Film | Oscars | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nominations | Wins | ||
| 1965 | Boy and Bicycle | ||
| 1977 | The Duellists | ||
| 1979 | Alien | 2 | 1 |
| 1982 | Blade Runner | 2 | |
| 1985 | Legend | 1 | |
| 1987 | Someone to Watch Over Me | ||
| 1989 | Black Rain | 2 | |
| 1991 | Thelma & Louise | 6 | 1 |
| 1992 | 1492: Conquest of Paradise | ||
| 1996 | White Squall | ||
| 1997 | G.I. Jane | ||
| 2000 | Gladiator | 12 | 5 |
| 2001 | Hannibal | ||
| Black Hawk Down | 4 | 2 | |
| 2003 | Matchstick Men | ||
| 2005 | Kingdom of Heaven | ||
| 2006 | All the Invisible Children | ||
| A Good Year | |||
| 2007 | American Gangster | 2 | |
| 2008 | Body of Lies | ||
| 2009 | Nottingham | ||
| 2010 | The Kind One | ||
| TBA | Tripoli | ||
| Factor X | |||
| Monopoly: The Movie | |||
| Brave New World | |||
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| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Scott, Ridley |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Scott, Sir Ridley |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | English film director, and producer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | November 30, 1937 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | South Shields, England |
| DATE OF DEATH | |
| PLACE OF DEATH | |
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